Constructing universal graphs for induced-hereditary graph properties

Abstract

Abstract Rado constructed a (simple) denumerable graph R with the positive integers as vertex set with the following edges: For given m and n with m < n, m is adjacent to n if n has a 1 in the m’th position of its binary expansion. It is well known that R is a universal graph in the set I of all countable graphs (since every graph in I is isomorphic to an induced subgraph of R). In this paper we describe a general recursive construction which proves the existence of a countable universal graph for any induced-hereditary property of countable general graphs. A general construction of a universal graph for the set of finite graphs in a product of properties of graphs is also presented. The paper is concluded by a comparison between the two types of construction of universal graphs.